Jan 14 2011

Interview with TJ Watt – Photographer and Environmentalist

"My work focus’s mainly on the threats to BC’s endangered old-growth forests and often times I am taking photos where less than and a handful of people have stood, if any at all. The dense rainforests of Vancouver Island are largely unexplored so it’s amazing to share images from these virtually unknown places. If you can’t bring the 4 million plus citizens of British Columbia to the woods then you need to bring the woods to them and now, with the power of GPS mapping and Google Earth, you can extend that concept to the entire world."

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Example of spectacular temperate rainforest on Vancouver Island contrasted with nearby logging of old-growth forest.
Jan 13 2011

Poor BC Logging Practices "add to gas emissions"

The carbon from coastal rainforests, much of which comes from Vancouver Island, is not counted in BC's official emissions tally as, at the international level, Canada and the provinces decided against including forests. If they were included, emissions numbers for BC would increase by 24 per cent.

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Old-growth forest clearcut new Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island
Jan 4 2011

Certification fails to protect B.C. forests

In response to increasing public outcries over his complete mismanagement of forests in the public interest, Forest Minister Pat Bell is frequently taking refuge behind forest certification programs. But are third-party stamps of approval really, as Bell claims, a guarantee that our forests -- a trillion-dollar publicly owned asset -- are being managed sustainably?

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"Canada's gnarliest tree" grows in Avatar Grove
Dec 23 2010

No Charlie Brown Tree

O’ Christmas tree! O’ Christmas tree! Thy status is so precarious—at least if you’re the gnarly old beauty celebrating your one-year birthday in Avatar Grove. But this season isn’t just a time to celebrate: it’s time to get serious about conservation efforts, according to the Ancient Forest Alliance.

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CRD Director Mike Hicks and son
Dec 22 2010

Avatar hopes high in Port Renfrew chamber

To mark the first anniversary of the discovery of the groves by the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce is adding its voice to the chorus calling for the grove’s long-term preservation.

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Hikers gather around the largest alien shaped cedar in the Lower Avatar Grove
Dec 19 2010

Island’s own Avatar Grove to open near Port Renfrew

In hopes of increasing public interest in saving the area from logging, the group is planning monthly public hikes to the grove, starting in January. Meanwhile, the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce has repeated its call for protection of the old-growth stand.

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Dec 14 2010

Endangered Avatar Grove

Between Port Renfrew and Cowichan Lake, above the banks of Gordon River, a small pocket of old-growth western redcedars (Thuja plicata) and Douglas-firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) was discovered earlier this year. It represents a rare remnant of valley-bottom primary forest on southern Vancouver Island, where 96% of the original forest has been logged. This place was dubbed Avatar Grove, after this year’s box office blockbuster Avatar, the story line of which is a cautionary tale warning against the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources.

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Large scale clearcutting of second-growth forests near Shirley in 2011.
Nov 21 2010

Letter to the Editor: Governments failing forest industry

As you may be well aware, our successive B.C. governments have had no interest in delaying or stopping logging of old growth trees. Their record is abysmal plus disgraceful in this regard.

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Nov 18 2010

Scientists Urge Canada to Protect Its Northern Rainforests as Climate Change Insurance

A new book released this week highlights the urgent need to protect Canada’s more than 20 million hectares of pristine temperate and boreal rainforests. Found in British Columbia, Newfoundland, Quebec, and New Brunswick, these globally important rainforests absorb and store vast amounts of carbon. Scientists argue that protecting these rainforests is a critical insurance against climate change and are calling on the Canadian government to take this message to the upcoming global conference on climate change.

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Nov 16 2010

Avatar Grove: Don’t Miss It

Some of you may have heard that we have our own 'Avatar Grove' on southern Vancouver Island. Located just 15 minutes from Port Renfrew, the Grove is a magnificent place populated with oldgrowth red cedars including 'Canada's Gnarliest Tree,' a giant tree with a 12 foot wide, contorted burl. MLA John Horgan shares his views.

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